From the Principal

Welcome back to Term 4! I trust everyone had a relaxing holiday break and are back ready for a term full of learning, events and celebration. 

Term 4 Events 

Just a reminder of our events for the term:

Reminder - 2027 Planning

The school is well underway in planning the 2027 school year.

This term, the school will be working on class lists for 2027. As per our Class Placement Policy, parents can write to Principal Ruth Biddle regarding class placements for their children. 

The process of making classes

Considerable thought, planning and time goes into placing children into classes and all staff are committed to meeting the educational needs of all students. Every effort is made to place each child in a learning environment that supports their learning and wellbeing.

When making classes:

1. The leadership and consultative team look at indicative student numbers and the amount of classes we can have for the 2027 school year.
2. In early term 4, students will have the opportunity to select 5 friends with a guarantee of being placed with at least one of these friends. 
3. Staff Teams begin drafting grades with consideration given to student numbers, gender balance, the previous class, each student’s academic and social ability, behaviour, friendship groups and family members of the same age (e.g. twins, cousins, siblings). 
4. Parent requests are reviewed.
5. The School Leadership Team reviews the classes and makes any necessary final alterations. The principal has the final say regarding all classes. 

Parents may wish to make a request if there are circumstances that may have a significant impact on their child’s educational, social or personal development. It should be noted that:

• There is no provision to request teachers. 
• Parent requests are not guaranteed as the school will not always be able to accommodate all requests but will endeavour to take parents’ views into consideration where possible.
• We discourage families from making requests about friendships for their children as the school will offer this opportunity for students in early Term 4. You can make a request to be separated from a child if there is a negative history or incidences. This will be discussed with the Principal Team and considered on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the reasons and ease of accommodation, may or may not be approved.

All information received from parents is considered in this context. Please ensure you email the school, oakleigh.ps@education.vic.gov.au directing the email to Ruth Biddle by Friday, 30 October. Requests must come through the office address and not to classroom teachers. Any requests made after this date will not be considered.  Please note that if you made a request last year that you will need to write another request this year if it is still relevant for your child. 

Sometimes not getting requests upsets students and their families. Invariably however, we find that students settle well in their new grade, meet new friends and are able to thrive. Our school values of connection and growth really come to play in this situation. We want our children to form new connections and experience growth - socially and academically each year in a different class. This helps prepare students to be flexible, especially those in the senior years as they prepare for secondary schooling in future years where they might have multiple teachers and different class compositions each day! 

If you are planning on moving interstate, to another country or away from Oakleigh PS and are yet to notify the office please do so as soon as possible.  Numbers have a significant bearing on our planning, and we appreciate early notification where possible.   

If you hear of anyone wishing to attend Oakleigh in 2027, please send them to the office to enrol. If you have not enrolled any younger siblings, please do so as quickly as possible so that they can attend our kinder to school transition program.

If you have any further questions, please contact the school office.

World Teacher’s Day

Australia celebrates World Teachers’ Day on 30 October. This year’s theme is ‘Shine a light on teachers. It is an excellent time to reflect on the wonderful teachers we have at Oakleigh Primary School and Kindergarten and their amazing contribution to the school and students’ learning. We are fortunate to have dedicated teachers at Oakleigh who look after the academic, social and emotional needs of our students. 

I ask that students and families acknowledge the day with their classroom teachers. A simple ‘thank you’, a note or ‘home-made’ card or a flower from your garden is simple way to recognize the work your teachers do.

We have planned a recognition ceremony for teachers to celebrate their profession.

Oakleigh Precinct Celebration - 11 November, 5-7pm

The OEP Celebration at South Oakleigh College will feature a HUGE showcase of our Japanese, STEM-Design Thinking and Transition Programs between our 4 schools. 

Oakleigh South PS, South Oakleigh College, Huntingdale PS and Oakleigh PS warmly invite the whole community to attend. There is a QR code to register your attendance, tickets are FREE.

Featuring a warm welcome, special guest speakers, highlights video, taiko drumming, Huntingdale PS senior choir, Japanese speech presentations, Japanese pen pal displays, showcase of transition programs, digital port folios, interactive STEM - design thinking demonstrations and much more!  

Lots to see and do in this jam packed 2 hours. We can’t wait to see you all there!

Student Supervision 

Before school: 

School grounds are supervised at 8.45-9.05am at the 

• Main front playground and Logie Street Entrance
• Warrawee Oval rear entry gate (silver gate near gym)

At 8:50 am the music will play to signal that teachers are in classrooms, ready to supervise students entering classrooms, enabling students to get ready for the day and learning starting at 9.00am. 

After school: 

School grounds are supervised at 3.30-3.45pm at the

• Main front playground and Logie Street Entrance
• Warrawee Oval rear entry gate (silver gate near gym)

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity). 

Parents/carers must ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity.

Families are encouraged to contact the OSHC coordinator via email at oshc@oakleighps.vic.edu.au or on 9568 2983 or 0412 168 560 or refer to https://www.oakleighps.vic.edu.au/out-of-school-hours-care  for more information about the before and after school care facilities available to our school community.

No balls on basketball court before and after school

We have had several incidents with people being hit by balls before and after school while collecting their children from school or the kindergarten.

Students cannot play any ball sports on the courts before school.  From 3.30-4.00pm ball sports cannot be played on the courts. After 4.00pm students may play if it is supervised by a parent or guardian. Students can play soccer or other ball sports on Warrawee Oval if they are supervised by a parent or guardian. 

Parent Conduct - discussing issues and approaching other families

Occasionally, incidences occur between students at school. The school liaises with the students involved and their families to sort out a resolution. This is done in a respectful and, in some cases, confidential manner to all involved. 

We ask that parents do not share and discuss these issues amongst themselves on the school grounds or via social media. We also ask that parents do not approach other parents to sort out disputes as this can often cause more upset. We ask that you contact the school and meet with the classroom teacher, so we can help with a resolution in a constructive manner. 

Thunderstorm Asthma - be prepared this pollen season

Grass pollen season in Victoria usually runs from October to December. During this time, asthma and hay fever symptoms can get worse. There is also an increased risk of thunderstorm asthma.  

Ten years ago, Melbourne experienced the largest thunderstorm asthma event in the world. Thunderstorm asthma can be sudden and serious. It can be life-threatening, especially if a person’s asthma or hay fever is not well controlled.  

Oakleigh Primary School will have measures to keep our school community safe. Many of our staff are trained in asthma first aid. We will monitor VicEmergency for thunderstorm asthma warnings. When needed, we will keep students indoors if the weather forecast shows a higher risk.   

Managing asthma and allergies matters. During this pollen season, there are some things you can do to protect yourself and your family: 

• If your child has ever had asthma, talk to your doctor about your Asthma Action Plan and to make sure symptoms are well controlled.  
• If your child has hay fever, talk to your pharmacist or doctor about a hay fever plan and check if you need an asthma reliever puffer.  
• If your child has cough or wheeze with hay fever, talk to your doctor to make sure they don’t also have asthma.  
• Take asthma medication as directed by your doctor, as the good control of symptoms can prevent thunderstorm asthma. 
• Follow the VicEmergency website or app. Where possible, avoid being outside during thunderstorms – especially during the winds that come before the storm. Go inside and close your doors and windows. If you have your air conditioning on, turn it to ‘recirculate’. 
• Know asthma first aid. If you are not sure if someone is having an asthma attack, you can still use a blue asthma reliever puffer.  

Find out more  

For more information, speak to your doctor. You can also: 

• speak with an asthma educator on  1800 ASTHMA (1800 278 462). This is a free service from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday 
• refer to Better Health Channel. This includes information in different languages. 

Student Attitudes Survey

The Student Attitudes to School Survey results have been released. This is an online survey which is administered to Year 4-6 in Term 2. While there are some pleasing results, there are some areas we will unpack with our students, so we can improve. 

Have a great month!

Ruth Biddle

Principal